FORT COLLINS – Colorado State finally got a player it hopes will be a big piece to an ever-evolving defensive line puzzle when it was announced on Tuesday that defensive lineman Calvin Tonga has been cleared to join the team.

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman will practice for the first time on Wednesday as a transfer from Arizona Western College. He’ll provide immediate help to a defensive line that needs all of the bodies and extra size it can get.

“He’s in school, everything is good there, so he’s part of the roster,” CSU coach Jim McElwain said. “I’m not going to hurry him in, but we are glad he is there and he adds depth to that position.”

Tonga is one of seven new players added to the roster on Tuesday. The other six – QB Christian Boese, DB Jared Chirico, WR Tyler Clark, DB Brandon Henrie, WR Tyler Nelson and DB Kyle Schefferley – are all walk-ons.

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Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.